Planning My "Right Now," NOT My "Near Future"

Friends,

I am currently trying very hard to focus on the now rather than the near. What do I mean by that? Well, I am getting caught up in thinking about things that I want to be doing without looking at the things that I need to be doing to get to the things that I want to be doing...

There you go.

I find it really easy to lose myself in future planning while ignoring all the things that I have to do that are right in front of my face. For example, I want to get going on my craft studio but I have so many unpacked boxes that need to be sorted out before I can find the things that I need for crafting. That reminds me, I have to contact the movers - and I figured out what happened the last time with the movers and nearly did it again! Ugh!! What a mess!

Anyway, if I can get the rest of my stuff over here on the 11th, I can get the apartment carpet cleaned and ready to check out before the end of the calendar year. I need to get my stuff organized a bit and ready to be transported over here. I also need to clean surfaces in the apartment as much as possible. All of that has to happen while I am breaking down boxes here so I can find places for my mom and my sister to sleep in the house. I have just now bought some mattresses and arranged for their delivery on the day that Mom and Sister arrive. I have arranged for carpet cleaning and enzyme treatment on the 23rd. I have a request for an estimate with my preferred moving company (and with my nonpreferred moving company - I did it again!). By requesting that others help me, I can then focus a bit more on what I need to do here to get ready for two new mattresses and the rest of my stuff arriving.

I am working on letting other people help me. This is not something I do easily - I tend to think that I can do everything all by myself and then I let myself down and feel shame when I have to ask for help. This time around, though, I am going to pay people for their services so I remove some of the stress from me. I do not have to feel shame when asking people to do the services that they offer to me - after all, I am paying them to do the work.

So, I need to find a pen - I have managed to move all the pens that I purposefully put down here somewhere else - to write down these appointments so I can put them into my planner which is currently upstairs.

It feels good to have knocked off so many contacts with others this morning. I do not enjoy making phone calls or appointments (for some reason), so it takes some gumption to get myself going to get things done. Being able to do things from my computer makes life so much easier for me. It's silly, but it is me.

So, my "right now" is very much focused on my personal living situation. There is so much still to be done, but I am chipping away at my to-do NOW list. This gives me a bit of comfort since things are done. I can check them off the to-do list and move them to the appointment list. 

Even though I am getting my "right now" lists going and accomplished, I am still finding that my thoughts are straying to the "near future." I keep finding myself envisioning the final product and thinking things like "gee, once I get this organized, I will be able to ..." These thoughts constantly interrupt my "right now" focus. There are always the "I should" and "I could" and "I would do this if only" goblins lurking, and they are especially active at the moment. The "Shoulda" goblin happens more often with the "right now" things, but the other two, "Coulda" and "Woulda," are rearing their ugly heads more often right now. It is pretty interesting to realize that these things are going on. Once I recognize what is happening, I can work towards healthier habits and thought processes.

So, it is now time to figure out how to keep "Coulda" and "Woulda" at bay while I focus on right now. If only I had my Kanban board up and going - I could write those things on that board and get them put someplace. Perhaps I should use my other systems to help me with this situation - I mean, I do have other ways to keep myself organized and thinking ahead. 

This takes me back to my to-do list and my ideas book. The "near future" stuff needs to go into the ideas book. The "right now" stuff needs to go on my to-do list to be addressed as soon as possible. Use the systems that you have in place already, MJ. You know those things actually work!

So, moving forward, I will be going to my ideas book for my "near future" stuff - I may need to start a new journal for at home or personal "near future" stuff. Oooh, I love setting up new journals!! Actually, I have a journal already, but I do not know where it is at the moment. 

I am going to spend the rest of my time here before work curating and cultivating my to-do list into things that I need to do before other things can happen (for example, the bedrooms need to be cleared of boxes BEFORE the new mattresses arrive) and then getting things organized and ready to go. I also want to figure out the things that are not part of my current situation and can be placed away in the ideas book or on my "near future" to-do list. I will also look into things that are aspirational rather than near or immediate needs. Those will go onto a completely different list.

It is good to focus on long-term goals, but many times, the "right now" things are more important to my health and well-being - whether they are the "right now" things in my role as music therapist at my facility or they are the "right now" things that I need to do here at home. So, I will be focusing on the "right now" until I can start to look past this week and this month and this situation.

What are the things in your "right now" focus? Share them in the comments below!

Happy Friday, friends!